Dispensing and storage container



J. R. DORMAN 2,903,127

DISPENSING AND STORAGE CONTAINER Filed Feb. 27, 1958 Sept. 8, 1959 BQEE IN V EN TOR.

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UnitedStates Patent iOfilice 2,903,127 DISPENSING AND STORAGE CONTAINER N Jack R. DormamCincinnati, Ohio Application February 27, 1958, Serial No. 718,073

a, Claims. Cl. 206-56) This invention relates to a compartmented container for differing groups of small articles, and particularly to such a container having a, rotatable. cover which has an aperture cooperating with the compartments forv selectively dispensing the small articles.

. While theflinvention will be described with reference to its use in the handling of construction parts, its application to a wide variety of small articles will be apparent.

It is the present practice to sell small parts such as screws, nails, cotter pins, bolts and the like in separate containers. Such parts are sold in a set, as for example a set of a number of sizes of brass wood screws, and in this case. theset may be packaged together in a tray having' a plurality of compartments each of which contains the screws'of one. group. Whether in a single container oi: in a number of separate containers, present containers for such articles are not completely satisfactory from the standpoint of storage and use. Separate containers require considerable storage space, and a particular part desired is often diflicult to locate among a large number of storage receptacles. A set of parts in one package fails to satisfy the requirements of practice because of the difficulty of dispensing one group of parts from the set without dislodging the remaining parts.

The present invention obviates the disadvantages noted above by providing a compartmented container for packaging differing groups of similar articles, the package being arranged so that in use any selected group can conveniently be dispensed. The invention consists of a container having a transparent cylindrical wall through which the parts are visible for display purposes. In addition to an impenforate cover sealing the parts in the container, the container is provided with a transparent, rotatable cover having an aperture which cooperates with the compartments to form a dispensing opening for a selected compartment.

The apertured cover is confined between the upper edges of the compartment dividers and the rim which supports the imperforate cover. The rim and the upper edges of the compartment dividers are spaced from each other so as to permit rotation of the apertured cover while at the same time confining the apertured cover against substantial axial movement.

With this arrangement, the aperture in the selector cover can be rotated until it lies within the confines of a selected compartment. The container is then tilted to discharge the selected parts, and only the selected parts, through the aperture of the cover.

In this manner the invention provides a container which is Well suited for display purposes by virtue of visibility of parts through the transparent cylindrical wall and is ideally suited for storage and use because of the apertured selector cover and the imperforate cover.

The objects of this invention will become more readily apparent from a further consideration of the following detailed. description of the drawings illustrating apreQ ferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: Y

Fig. 1 is perspective view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top planview thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view along lines. 3.-3 of Fig. 1.

tion.

Fig. 5 is a detail' view of one divider and r Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the selec- 12 spun on the'lower edge 14 of the cylindrical wall. A.' metallic rim 16 is spun on the upper edge 18 of the cylindrical wall. The rim has an edge portion 20* which pro jects inwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the upper edge 18 of the cylindrical wall to form an annular cavity 22. j

A plurality of dividers 24 having axial slots 26 (Fig. 5), are assembled as shown at 28 in Fig. 4. A circular retainer disc 30. having radial slots 32 projected inwardly from the peripheral edge 34 thereof is disposed onthe bottom of the container as shown in Fig. 3. The divider assembly 28 is disposed within the cylindrical wall, eachof the dividers having two downwardly directed projections 36 received in the slots 32 tomaintain the dividers in angularly spaced relation to form a plurality of compartments 38'.

Each divider 24 has two upwardly directed projections 40 which are received in the annular cavity 22 formed between the edge 20 and the upper edge portion '18 of the cylindrical wall. Each of the projections 40 has an inwardly facing edge 42 which is radially outwardly spaced from the rim edge 20. A transparent dispenser cover 44 having an upturned peripheral flange 46 rests on upper edges 48 of the dividers with the flange 46 extending into the space between projection edges 42 and rim edge '20. The spacing of the projection with respect to the rim edge '20 is slighly greater than the thickness of the flange 46 so as to permit free rotation of the cover 44 on the upper edges of the dividers.

A cutout sector 50 is formed in the cover 44 to provide an aperture in the cover through which access to the compartments 38 may be had. The angle of the sector 50 is slightly less than the angle of each of the compartments 38 so that the edge portions 52 which define the sector over-hang the upper edges 48 of the dividers when the aperture is located centrally of a compartment as illustrated in Figure 2. Thus, the under surface of the apertured cover 44 cooperates with the upper edges 48 of the dividers to block the flow of parts from adjoining compartments when parts are being dispensed from a selected compartment. The flange 46 of cover 44 also cooperates with the projections 40 on the dividers to maintain the dividers centered in the container.

Tabs 54 extend upwardly from the edges 52 of the sector 50 to facilitate the rotation of the cover 44 to bring the aperture into alignment with a selected compartment. A detail of the tab construction is illustrated in Fig. 6.

The container is closed by an imperforate cover 56 which engages the edge 20 of the rim 16 in known manner. The imperforate cover 56, when the cover is seated in closed position (as shown in Fig. 3), is spaced only slightly from the upper surface of the aperture cover 44 to prevent the inadvertent flow of parts through the apertu-re 50 during handling of the container.

A label 60 may be printed or adhesively secured around the top or bottom edge of the container to Patented Sept. 8, 1959- Fig. 4 is, a disassembled perspective view of. the invenv 3 identify the size or quality of the parts contained in each of the-compartments. v

While the invention has been described as applied to the displayand dispensing of small parts, it is to be understood that the invention has-application to; other fieldssuch as in the display' and dispensing of assorted fruit nuts, buttons, safety pins, snaps, and the'like.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed in the above description,'what is deemed to be the most practical and efficient embodiment of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiment as there might bechanges made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims. I

I claim:

' 1. A'container for diifering groups of parts comprising, a cylindrical Wall having a bottom wall fixed thereto, axially extending dividers radiating from the axis of said cylindrical wall and dividing said container into a plu-v rality of compartments for receiving said parts, said dividers having projections extending from the upper edges thereof adjacent the upper edge of said cylindrical wall,

a rim on the upper edge of said member, said rim hav-.

ing an edge projecting inwardly and downwardly to define an annular cavity with said cylindrical wall for receiving said projections, a transparent, apertured selector cover rotatably mounted between said rim and said dividers, said cover having an up-turned peripheral flange received in said annular cavity between said projections and the edge of said rim.

2. A container for diflering groups of parts comprising, a cylindrical member having a bottom wall axially extending dividers radiating from the axis of said cylindrical member and dividing said member into a plurality of compartments for receiving said parts, a disc disposed on the bottom of said container and having a plurality of radial slots for receiving the bottom edges of said dividers, an inwardly and downwardly projecting rim on the upper edge of said member, and a transparent, aperture selector cover rotatably mounted between said rim and said dividers, said cover having an up-turned member and a transparent, apertured selector cover ro-" tatably mounted between said rim and said dividers, said dividers having projections extending from the upper edges thereof adjacent the upper edge of said cylindrical member and received in an annular cavity formed by said downwardly projecting rim and said cylindrical member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,896,827 Neely Feb. 7, 1933 1,896,976 Schiiferdeckef Feb. 7, 1933 2,007,547 Rand July 9, 1935 2,171,675 Travnitschek Sept. 5, 1939 2,275,293 -Foley Mar. 3, 1942 2,528,948 DiCosmo Nov. 7, 1950 

